Fresh Ideas // Story Hotel

I love that I am still surprised by design. You would think that with so many images I see in a week that it would be nearly impossible to do, but there I was just last week, scanning the dailies on Pinterest when I stumbled upon this image of a guest bathroom at the Story Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden.  I must have left it and come back to it several times before pinning. You see, it's not necessarily my style. But one of the things I love most about this space is that it pushes some of those uncomfortable buttons for me and makes me think that even I might adopt some of its freethinking, bohemian ways when designing a space that is more aligned with my tastes and style. 

Take the way different metals are used in this bathroom. I've struggled a bit with this in my own home. Do I have to stick exclusively with chrome now that we've invested in those pricey kitchen pendants? Is it possible to mix in some brass hardware in my master bath now that some of my tastes have changed?  This bathroom happily marries brushed and polished, brass and chrome and reassures me that I just might have some flexibility to change direction now that my preferences have evolved.

Then there's the minimalist pendant. Perhaps it works only because there is so much natural light reflecting through the windows and off all that glacier white tile. But it has appeal, no? I've long thought about how I could incorporate one (Morgan has her own design coming out soon and I'm ready to pull the trigger on that baby). But I'd honestly never thought to put one in a bathroom- until now.

This space also breaks all the conventional rules telling me that sinks in a bathroom have to be white- and match for that matter. These painted porcelain bowls add whimsy and are an unexpected show-stopper- a hard feat considering the competition brought to the table with that polished brass countertop.

Image found via Studio Karin